Dry closet.



PATENTED MAR. 27, 1906.

7 'T. MAOFARLANE.

' DRY GLOSET.. APPLICATION IILBD'NOV.2B,19'03.

PATENT omen.

THOMAS MAOFARLANE, OF OTTAWA, CANADA.

DRY CLOSET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 27, 1906.

Application filed November 28, 1903. Serial No, 183,000.

1'0 all whom it may concern.-

-Be it known that I, THOMAS MACFARLANE,

b of the city of Ottawa, in the county of .Oarleton and Province ofOntario, in the Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in'Dry Closets and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof. I

My invention, which will be hereinafter fully set forth and claimed,relates to sanitary devices for the reception and retention of excreta.

The object of my invention is a device in which human feces or excretamay be deposited and retained without their retention causingobjectionable odors and unhealthy contamination of the surroundingatmosphere.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my improved device shownin its normal condition, part being in elevation; and Fig.

2 is a top view of the same, seat, seat-cover, and top lid beingremoved.

The necessary convenience for a seat E, a step a, storage-room B for asupply of absorbing material, and de osit-space a for holding the usedpart of fire latter containing the feces is provided in a box-likestructure or receptacle A of such width as to afv ford seating capacity.The rear part is made higher than the seat to afford space for a hopperB, provided at the top with. a

hinged lid B, giving access forfilling and the front a afiordingincidentally a sloping back tothe seat. The rearend contains a largedoorA to permit access to the main cavity a, or interior of the receptaclefor the purpose of mixing and emptying. The bottom a is preferablycovered with sheet-lead or the like, forming a pan-like lining O, thefront of which runs up a lining a of the seatriser a to preventsaturation of the wood with urine.

The structure may be made portable by providing it with casters D, orone or both sides a of the box may be replaced by the permanent walls ofan apartment.

E is the perforated hinged seat, and E the seat lidor cover, alsohinged.

The hopper B, of which the seat-back a extending below the seat andtherear wall 1), forms, respectively, the front and back, is preferablymade to slope from the top and rear forward and somewhat narrower inwidth at the lower end than at the top, though this is not essential.The lower end of the rear wall 1) extends close to the traybelow, whilethe lower end of the partition a leaves a sufficient space above thetray for the discharge of absorbent.

F is a tray provided at the sides and rear end with a rim f. It isdisposed in a position slanting from the rear forward and downward andsupported at the highest and rear end upon plvots F, secured to saidtray and having bearings in the sides of the receptacle A. Its rear endextends well past the lower end of the rear wall I) of the hopper B andclose to the door A The front edge extends to within a few inches of theriserlining a, so as to receive the excrements and leave a convenientspace for the absorbent and excrement to slide off and drop into thespace at below. The forward end is supported on a fixed support a andadapted to be raised by mechanism which will be hereinafter described.When at rest, it has an elevation not too near the seat and yetleavingample space below and providing a convenient slope for the movement ofthe absorbent, anangle of thirty degrees being found operative.

For giving a vibratory motion to the tray F different mechanical devicesmay be applied. One that is foundeffective is shown in the drawings andis as follows: The tread A of the step a is hinged-to the risera of theseat, (strap-hinges) being shown,) a curtain-board 3 being provided(shown in Fig. 1) to prevent an open gap when the tread is partlyraised. A bar G, secured to the bottom of the tread A near each end,projects through a slot in the partition a under or near the front edgeof the tray To these bars are pivoted at the ends links G, havingpivotal connection with said tray by pins g, which may be convenientlyin the shape of bolts secured slidingly to the bottom of said tray. InFig. 2 the upper ends of these links G. are shown in a slot-4 in thetray; but this disposition is of course not essential. The relativedisposition of the bars G, which become levers, and the links G are suchthat tread A ceases the trayF drops on the sup When the tread IIO port agiving a jarring shock or vibrating motion to the tray, which causes thecontents of the tray toslide forward and a part of it to fall over theedge and at the same time release more absorbent from the hopper andbecome free upon the tray.

Prepared moss or moss litter, such as fibrous peat is, intended to beused as an absorbent and deodorizer. It possesses very extensiveabsorbing qualities and can be used over and over again, for whichpurpose the contents of the lower receptacle are stirred up or mixedfrom time to time with a shovel or other implement and placed again inthe hopper B. This may be repeated many times and results finally in ahighlyconcentrated manure.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a dry closet, the combination of areceptacle partly formed of a step, a seat and a raised rear portion, ahopper for an absorbent in the upper portion of the rear part, slopingforward andformlng the sloping back to the seat, a hinged lid at the topof said hopper, a door at the rear of the receptacle giving access tothe interior, a perforated hinged seat with hinged lid or cover adjacentto the sloping front of the raised rear part, a sloping tray extendingwith its raised end under the hopper and with its lower end partly underthe seat, pivotal supports se cured to the raised rear end of said trayand a fixed support under the lower forward end, a tread to the stephinged to the riser of the seat, bars secured to said tread andextending toward the front edge of said tray and links connecting saidbars pivotally with the forward end of said tray, substantially as setforth.

2. In a dry closet, the combination with a suitable receptacle providinga seat and access to its interior, of a sloping tray pivoted at itshigher and rear end to suitable sup orts and resting with its forwardlower en free on a fixed support and extending from the rear of thereceptacle partly under the seat, a step in front of the seat, a treadupon said step hinged to the seat-riser, levers secured to the underside of said tread and projecting toward said tray and links pivotallyconnected to said levers and said tray, so as to raise the latter whenthe tread of the step is depressed, substantially as set forth.

In testnnony whereof I have signed in the presence of the undersignedwitnesses.

THOMAS MACFARLANE.

Witnesses A. HARVEY, I. G. CoNNoLLY.

